The Cleveland Browns selected 22-year old DE Jabaal Sheard out of Pittsburgh with the #37 overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Sheard is a little on the small side at DE as he is 6’2″, 254 pounds….but he’s fast as he runs a 4.75 40.  His speed off the snap gets him into opposing backfields quite often.  Sheard plays hard and he plays hurt, so if he’s sitting on the bench it will be because of performance.  He could get a little tougher against the run though according to reports.  Sheard played in 12 games (all starts) for Pittsburgh last year and he had 52 tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, batted down 4 balls, forced 4 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Sheard played in 47 games (38 starts) in his four years with Pittsburgh and he had 142 tackles, 35.5 tackles for a loss, 19.5 sacks, batted down 16 passes, forced 5 fumbles and he had 1 fumble recovery.  The Browns have been waiting a long time for a good pass rushing end and they may have found one in Jabaal Sheard.

The Cleveland Browns traded down out of the #6 pick with the Atlanta Falcons (they picked WR Julio Jones).  The Browns got the #27 overall pick (1st round), #59 overall pick (2nd round) and #124 overall pick (4th round) in this year’s draft as well as the Falcons’ first and fourth round picks in 2012.  That was quite a haul for Julio Jones (whom the Browns could have used themselves).  The Browns then dealt the #27 overall pick and the #70 overall pick (3rd round) to the Kansas City Chiefs to move up six spots to #21.  The Browns then selected 23-year old massive DT Phil Taylor out of Baylor.  Taylor is a huge man at 6’3″, 337 pounds and he will team inside with Ahtyba Rubin in the Browns’ new 4-3 defensive alignment.  Taylor played in 13 games (all starts) for Baylor last year and he had 62 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, he batted down 2 balls and he forced 1 fumble.  Taylor played in 44 games (27 starts) in his four years at Baylor and Penn State in which he had 107 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, 2 batted down balls and 1 forced fumble.

The first round of the NFL Draft is next Thursday and it will be the start of the Cleveland Browns trying to fill some holes on the roster.  I think they will be pretty successful at that venture as I saw them doing pretty well in my mock draft.  Here’s how I saw them doing:

1st round (#6 overall) – A.J. Green, WR, Georgia

2nd round (#37 overall) – Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor

3rd round (#70 overall) – Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsburgh

4th round (#102 overall) – Pierre Allen, DE, Nebraska

5th round (#137 overall) – Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia

6th round (#168 overall) – Keith Williams, G, Nebraska

6th round (#170 overall) – Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh

7th round (#248 overall) – Dane Sanzenbacher, Ohio State

I see the Browns cleaning up in this draft just like they did last year at this time.  A.J. Green would immediately become the Browns’ go to WR!  Each of the linemen on both sides of the ball could also win starting jobs if they look good in training camp.  This would be a monster haul for the Browns.

The Cleveland Browns did a good job in the draft last season and they hope to repeat that success next month.  Here is a look at how well the guys did that they drafted last April:

Joe Haden:  The Browns took 21-year old cornerback Joe Haden in the 1st round (#7 overall) out of Florida.  Haden started out as the Browns’ nickel back but he was starting by the end of the season.  Haden played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Browns last season and he had 64 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, defensed 18 passes and he had 6 interceptions (101 return yards).  He also helped out on special teams as he returned 4 kickoffs for 96 yards (24.0 avg) last season.  Haden is going to be a Pro Bowl CB in the very near future for the Cleveland Browns.

T.J. Ward:  In the 2nd round, the Browns took safety T.J. Ward (#38 overall) out of Oregon.  Ward led the Browns in tackles as  a rookie and he was an intimidator at the back end of the defense.  Ward started all 16 games for the Browns last season and he had 123 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 10 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble.  Ward & Haden give the Browns a very talented half of a secondary.

Montario Hardesty:  24-year old RB Montario Hardesty was the #59 overall pick (2nd round) out of Tennessee.  He tore an ACL in training camp which caused him to miss his rookie season.  The Browns hope that Hardesty will stay healthy and back up Peyton Hillis in 2011.

Colt McCoy:  The Browns waited until the 3rd round (#85 overall) to pick 24-year old QB Colt McCoy out of Texas.  McCoy played in 8 games (all starts) for the Browns last season and he completed 135 of 222 passes (60.8%) for 1,576 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (74.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 28 times for 136 yards (4.9 ypc) with a TD run and he caught 1 pass for 13 yards.  McCoy took advantage of injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace to stake his claim as the Browns’ starting QB.

Shaun Lauvao:  The Browns took 23-year old OG Shaun Lauvao in the 3rd round with the 92nd overall pick in the draft.  He played in college at Arizona State.  Lauvao played in 10 games (1 start) for the Browns as a rookie.  He will get a chance to earn more P.T. and maybe even a starting job on the right side of the offensive line this year.

Larry Asante:  22-year old safety Larry Asante was picked in the 5th round (#160 overall) out of Nebraska.  He never played for the Browns.  The Buccaneers signed him off of the Browns’ practice squad.  Asante played in 2 games for the Bucs last season and he had 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.

Carlton Mitchell:  22-year old WR Carlton Mitchell came to the Browns in the 6th round (#177 overall) out of South Florida.  Mitchell played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Browns last season and he didn’t catch any passes.  Mitchell did carry the ball 1 time for 9 yards.  It really says something about Mitchell that he couldn’t earn any P.T. with the terrible WRing corps that the Browns were employing last year.

Clifton Geathers:  The Browns took 23-year old DE Clifton Geathers in the sixth round (#186 overall) out of South Carolina.  He never got onto the field with the Browns.  He played in 1 game each for the Cowboys & Dolphins last season but he didn’t make any tackles.  He’s on the Cowboys now.

GRADE FOR 2010:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

Head coach Eric Mangini has named 24-year old rookie Colt McCoy as his starting QB for the rest of the year.  McCoy has played in 5 games for the Browns so far this year and he has completed 81 of 127 passes (63.8%) for 975 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs (85.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 20 times for 87 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  McCoy was a third round pick out of Texas (#85 overall) but he has played like a first round pick for the Browns so far this year.  They hope he can finish strong against the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers.

Safety T.J. Ward (2nd round out of Oregon) and CB Joe Haden (1st round pick out of Florida) have really added a lot of talent to the Browns’ secondary this year.  Ward is a intimidating hitter who has made his mark as a lot of WRs don’t like to go over the middle against the Browns.  Ward has played in 11 games for the Browns so far this year and he has 87 tackles (leads the Browns), 2 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed, 2 interception and a forced fumble.  Joe Haden has finally gotten into the starting lineup in Eric Wright’s place.  Haden has played in 11 games for the Browns so far this year and he has 40 tackles, 11 passes defensed and 4 interceptions which he has returned a combined 101 yards.  Haden also had 4 kickoff returns for 96 yards (24.0 avg) so far this year.  Ward & Haden have also been standouts on special teams coverage units this year.  They appear to have been outstanding picks for the Cleveland Browns last April.

Browns’ president really wanted to draft Colt McCoy, but his GM kept passing him up before relenting near the end of the third round.  McCoy has led the Browns to a 2-2 record against the Steelers, Patriots, Saints and Jets while they have been averaging 23.5 points per game which is pretty darn impressive.  McCoy has started 4 games for the Browns this year and he has completed 64 of 99 passes (64.6%) for 734 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (85.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 48 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  McCoy has been buying time in the pocket with his feet while looking down the field and the result has been some huge plays.  The Browns start playing some soft defenses the rest of the year so McCoy might just put up some real big numbers to go along with some wins.

The Browns have placed rookie running back Montario Hardesty on the Injured Reserve List due to a torn left ACL.  Hardesty injured himself in the pre-season finale against the Bears last Thursday Night.  His rookie season will consist of 1 pre-season game in which he carried the ball 7 times for 25 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  This is a huge blow to the Browns who were going to use Hardesty in tandem with Jerome Harrison.  His injury will open up playing time for Peyton Hillis and James Davis.

The Cleveland Browns select DE Clifton Geathers out of South Carolina with the 186th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Geathers is a big guy at 6’7″, 299 pounds and he runs a 4.98 40 as he is a good athlete for his size.  But, he’s still learning as a football player and he probably should have stayed in college for 1 more year.  Geathers played in 12 games for South Carolina last season and he had 41 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss and he had 3.5 sacks.  He played in 35 games in his three years at South Carolina in which he finished with 72.5 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 6 sacks.  Geathers is going to take time for the Browns to develop as he was a reach in the draft.

The Cleveland Browns selected WR Carlton Mitchell with the 177th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Mitchell is a big guy at 6’4″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Mitchell played in 11 games (10 starts) last season at South Florida and he caught 40 passes for 706 yards (17.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 37 games (18 starts) in his three years with the Bulls and he caught 105 passes for 1,648 yards (15.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Mitchell will likely have a great chance to make the Cleveland Browns’ roster in 2010 as they have a huge need at WR.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was starting before the 2010 season is over.